…ants are rarely reported foraging on the webs of orb-weaving spiders, despite the formidable capacity of ants to subdue prey and repel enemies, the diversity and abundance of orb-web spiders, and the nutritional value of the web and resident spider. We explain this paradox by reporting a novel property of the silk produced by the orb-web spider Nephila antipodiana (Walckenaer). These spiders deposit on the silk a pyrrolidine alkaloid (2-pyrrolidinone) that provides protection from ant invasion. Furthermore, the ontogenetic change in the production of 2-pyrrolidinone suggests that this compound represents an adaptive response to the threat of natural enemies, rather than a simple by-product of silk synthesis: while 2-pyrrolidinone occurs on the silk threads produced by adult and large juvenile spiders, it is absent on threads produced by small juvenile spiders, whose threads are sufficiently thin to be inaccessible to ants.

These results were reported today in a paper by Shichang Zhang in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Zhang et al assayed three species of ants against an array of silk strands with and without the alkaloid, finding they would more frequently traverse the 2-pyrrolidinone-free strand to reach a food source. It’s good, basic experimental chemical ecology.

I do have one quibble with the study, though. The authors wanted to test the efficiency of 2-pyrrolidinone against ants generally, so they employed several ant species. But their subjects (Pheidole angulicollis, Monomorium pharaonis, and Monomorium indet. sp.) are all relatively similar ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae, and ones I’m not sure represent much of a predation risk for Nephila spiders in nature. Singapore has large, dominant tree-dwelling ants- including the formidable Oecophylla weaver ants-that likely are more dangerous to spiders and would have presented a more realistic test of the spider’s chemical defenses.

3 comments on Orb-weaving spiders have an ant problem

Nephila spp., unlike most other orb-weavers, do not eat then rebuild their webs daily. The webs persist, and accumulate trapped prey too small to attract the large spiders, so they often have small web parasites in other spider genera (especially Theridiidae: Argyrodes) that take advantage of the bounty. One wonders if the spiders that replace their webs daily bother with ant repellent?

This is an interesting topic and paper, although I agree with James that we really may not conclude that ants are the ultimate / only target of the chemicals. Consider kleptoparasite co-evolution; do they sequester the chemicals produced by the web-spinner for their own nefarious uses lol. There are an awful lot of other spider kleptoparasites as well as Argyrodes; its a fascinating topic all on its own.

I can think of a number of other possible reasons for chemical impregnation of the web, defense against spider predators like Salticidae: Portia spp., making this potential source of nesting/building material distasteful/poisonous, toxic effects on prey caught in the web, advertising of mating status, etc.